All around the blooming heather
by Medicus Serpentis
Summary: Something wasn't right but now... he was so sure something terrible had happend but how did he come here? -Denial is a good thing for a comic-fan.-
1. Chapter 1

_Something is very, very wrong... _

That was the first thought of Wally West after he woke up, face down in something that was green and smelled like earth and a little bit like grass, hay and blooming flowers.

After he sat up he saw that he sat on a wide hayfield, blooming flowers and green weed around him. A mellow wind was blowing, the sky was deep blue, a few white clouds here and there and the sun was pleasant warm. He could hear some birds singing in the distant but other than that it was quiet and peaceful. In short: It was a beautiful day. And he had no idea how he ended up here. Or what happened before he woke up.

"Uh..."

The sound of a voice startled him. A black-haired woman sat up beside him and hold her head.

"What happened?", she asked but Wally couldn't answer.

"... Linda?"

"Wally?"

Yes. Linda. His wife. The woman he loved. She was here! She was really, really here! Without thinking he had her in a hug, smelled her perfume and the smell of her hair, felt her soft skin against his. He had this feeling... this feeling of loss, as if she had disappeared at some point and now he had her back. But... that wasn't right, was it? He never lost her, so why did he have this feeling?

"Hey... is everything alright?", she asked, her voice more like a whisper than anything.

"I... don't know.", said Wally. Were these tears in his eyes? Why was everything so blurry? He was so happy, why did he have the feeling like he should cry? "But.. you're here. So it's gonna be alright. I promise."

"Wally? Where... where are our kids?"

"Kids... Our children!"

He remembered. His children. Jay and Iris. Where are they? They couldn't... They have to be somewhere! They couldn't have disappeared! They couldn't be... away! They have to be here!

_Oh please, please, please, please don't take my kids away, not my children, please, no..._

"Jay? Irey?", he shouted, looking around, zipping around, searching. "Please... where are you? Please... come out!"

"Dad...?"

A tiny voice was heard and Wallys heart nearly stopped. There was a head coming up between blooming poppy and bellflowers. And then an other.

"Jay! Iris!"

And his children _(His wonderful, wonderful children! They were here, they are real, they wouldn't go away)_ looked at him and then everything was a blur of flower petals and happy laughter and his children and his wife. They are all here. They are all save. Whatever that... vision was, a vision of a world without his family, without him, was just a bad dream, a nightmare. They hadn't vanished. They were here and together. Nothing is going to happen to them, nothing would take them away.

"I'm so happy...", said Wally. "So happy you are all here."

"Not gonna get rid of us easily.", whispered Linda. "We Wests stick together."

"So true."

"And now?"

"Now we gonna figure out where the hell we are... and what we gonna do. But we'll do that together, okay? You all stay with me."

Linda smiled. "Okay, honey.", she said. "Okay..."

Yes... okay. It's going to be okay. Wally would make sure of that.


	2. Chapter 2

Wally run his family to Keystone, his children linked with him per Speedforce, his wife in his arms. It was a short run and as the familiar buildings showed up Wally couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Everything looked normal but something was off. Not bad-off, but off.

It just seemed people were... friendlier than usual. Well, people in Central City and Keystone were generally really friendly. But somehow... it seemed brighter than usual. More smiles, more light in eyes, less dark places, less cold stares, less fear, less mistrust. More trust and, well... peace.

Their house was there just like Wally remembered it. It seemed a bit brighter, a bit newer but surely it was just in his mind... wasn't it? Inside everything looked normal. Maybe a bit tidier than usual, but ordinary enough. There were pictures of him and his family, of friends and places, holidays spend together. There were a few photos of Barry and Iris, of Jay and his wife, of Bart and Max and Jessy, of Roy, Dick and others from the Titans and Justice League.

What puzzled him were the pictures of Roy and Lian. Roy had his arm intact and Lian looked older than... than the age she died. She and Roy looked so happy, Lian with a bow in her Hand, her Dad behind her, looking so proud. There was a picture standing besides this one, Irey, Jay, Lian and... was this Damian? All for or them standing together, each of them had an ice-cone in their hands. Irey had her arm slung around a slightly bewildered looking Damian, Lian and Jay were standing laughing besides them.

How could that be? She was dead. And... there was never a photo like this before. Was that some sort of joke? Some sick, twisted prank?

He looked at the photos. Yes, something was... off. He didn't remember owning so much pictures of so much happy smiling people. What was going on?

"Wally?"

Linda came to him in the living room, two books in her hands, no, more like two folders.

"There are report cards here. Report cards from Jay and Irey. There SHOULDN'T be any of them! They were never this long in a public school."

"And we have photos here that shouldn't exist.", said Wally.

"Alternative Dimension? Another Universe?"

"I don't know, it looks just like our but a bit... brighter. And with report cards..."

"Okay... if we are in another universe... where are the other versions of us?"

"Around, around where we were before or just... not here.", Wally said.

"You know, our life is really strange if we take something like "being in an other universe" so good..."

"Well... you wouldn't had married me if you wanted "just normal"...?"

Linda laughed.

"True, honey."

"Maybe the League could help us... If there IS a League..."

"There should be. There was always a League."

"True."

Wally got his Comm-link out.

"Here is Flash, Watchtower, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. What's up, Wally?"

Wally let his Comm-link falling down. Because this voice on the other end... was from somebody he knew was dead.


	3. Chapter 3

He took a Zeta-beam to the Watchtower. And it was... it was nothing like he remembered it. First, there were smiling people all over the place. There were non-superhero-people, doing their jobs with cleaning and managing the place, greeting him friendly, laughing with other heros over a joke or were aided by other heros in their task.

There were heros looking a lot cheerfuller and relaxed than he had every seen. And there were heros he knew were death or inactive because of some injury.

He met Roy. He wasn't the nicest men under the sun, but he was Roy and he looked good. No mechanical arm, no pain and hurt in his eyes. He even smiled a bit and told him to see the others.

There were Nightwing talking to Superboy and Kid Flash (Bart, it was Bart! Why was he so surprised? Because he died once. And he had the feeling he disappeared along with him, but he didn't, did he? No, Bart was here and save and thank God or Speedforce or whoever that he was save!).

There was Robin, two of them. Damian looked displeased as ever but not quiet so much like Wally had known him. A strange man, known as Redhood was standing besides them.

And Tim was standing besides the Blue Beetle. The Second Blue Beetle. Ted Kord. The Ted Kord he knew was dead for some years. And Tim had this gleam of admission in his eyes.

Ted saw him coming and smiled, winked to him that he should come closer.

"Hey, Wally!", Ted said smiling. "So you are here now too? Then I should say "Welcome", shouldn't I?"

"Were is here? And why are here..."

"Why is everything and everyone here so happy? Seriously: I don't have a clue. I remember dying and than I woke up on a heather just outside Chicago. I first met Dan, my old mentor here... and Sue and Ralph. My first though was, that this is some kind of afterlife for death heros.", Beetle explained. "Especially after we met Scott and Barda and they told us they were quite a while here."

"But Roy isn't death! Or Tim or Dick!"

"Yes, I know. I really don't know how it works, but most of them remember that their life over THERE just sucked. But not all of us here are from there. We also have a Batman, a Superman and a Wonder Woman here, but they aren't doing very much. And they... aren't really the Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman we know, I think... After the first of us coming along, they said something about this is a universe for heros and such who were going trough shit for nothing and it is like some karma-thing to make it up for us... I really don't know. Maybe if one of them dies in our universe or has his life fucked up enough he or she will take the place of this one here. Or the one here will just remember dying over there. It is all a bit fuzzy."

He took a deep breath.

"Booster came just a few days before you. Said there was hell breaking lose in our universe. Something about history is writing itself new and time fucking up. Well, whatever happened over there, it seems like you... don't exist anymore in our universe. There was a Wally West, but he hadn't Superspeed or a connection to the Speedforce, he wasn't Kid Flash or the Flash and he died. And somehow this resulted in you coming here."

"I... I died over there? And my family?"

"Didn't exist. I don't know if there was a Linda Parker, but your children definitely

weren't there."

"So that is what I felt... I felt like something really terrible had happened..."

"Well... it did but instead of dying or just disappearing you came here."

"Wow..."

Wally had to sit down. Whatever he expected, this wasn't it.

"What about the... me and my family who was here before me? Are they still around? Or are they... were I was before I came here?"

"No.", said Ted. "You are the Wally West of this World. You and he are kinda... overlapping. Yesterday you didn't existed as the Wally we knew here but today it is like you were always here. The Wally who lived and grew up here just gained all your memories and everything that makes you... well, you as you shifted. He is not dead or vanished but rather... updated. Same goes for your family. The Linda Parker of this world and your Linda just merged into one. It's the same woman you know and love, only now you hand a live here AND there. You should remember stuff from your live here in a few days. It' a bit confusing first but it will settle after a while. So don't worry about it. You didn't steal anything from the other Wally because you and him are the same."

"Uhh...", said Wally, al little overwhelmed about this all.

"So... let me get that straight: This... Universe is a kind of "Sorry we screwed up your life"-present from... gods or something like that? Everything is fine here, no scary, dark place and danger?"

"Well...", said Ted. "Not ALL is fine here. I mean, there are some bad guys and nutjobs running around and from time to time some aliens try to conquer earth or some creepy things from the underground show up, but all in all its a good place. We have some sort of League here, but this isn't really like the one we got way back home. This is more like... everybody has his town and his people he or she protect, but its nice to meet friends here and trade information. No monitor duty, only if you have time and want to. So... as much as we know is this place really nice."

"Uh... okay. I think I can see your point."

There was a moment of silent between them until Wally spoke up again.

"So... what about the Robins and Roy? They are not dead over THERE, aren't they?"

"I don't know, Booster didn't know about them and he was the last who came before you. But maybe others will appear that know something. We are waiting for a Green Lantern or someone with knowledge about something. But we think they are alive in our universe. Just... so changed, that they came here. Maybe they changed places with their other selves here..."

"And... what about Barry?"

"There is a Barry Allan around, but he isn't our Barry. He didn't came yet. I don't know if he will..."

"Oh..."

A beeping sound was heard and Booster Gold came flying to Beetle, eyes wide and smiling.

"Ted, you have to see this, a whole town just shifted here! It's this town in Texas and I think we just got Jaime! And just come on, you HAVE to see this! Oh... hey, Wally."

"Booster...", Wally greeted him, but Booster ignored him, just picked up Beetle (Who didn't protest much) and fly away into an other room.

Uh... odd...

It was only now that Wally noticed that Tim was still standing besides him.

"Hey... you aren't dead, are you?", he asked.

"No. I only remember a kind of... white light. And then I was here."

"Still Young Justice running?"

Tim grinned.

"You bet! Well... sort of. We kinda merged with the Titans. Young Titans, pretty cool, huh? Well like Blue Beetle said, there isn't a real League here and so no real Teen Titans or Young Justice. Just... a group of people who understand each other. It'... pretty exciting!"

"Sounds like it.", said Wally.

Yes... this whole new... universe sounds really exiting. He had a feeling like he could feel like home here.


End file.
